Kenya Power is now seeking an approval from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) to hike power bills by 20 percent to turn around from dwindling fortunes.
If given a nod, households consuming 100 kilowatts per month will have to pay Ksh12.50 a unit, up from the current Ksh10.
Households that consume between 100 and 200 kilowatts per month will now pay Ksh19.53 per unit from the current Ksh15.80, if the proposal is allowed.
“The tariff application is still under review by EPRA and stakeholder consultations will be held before any determination is made,” EPRA Director-General Pavel Oimeke told a local daily.
Read: Tough Times As Kenya Power Suspends Afternoon Tea To Cut Costs
Power tariffs were reduced last year after an outcry from the small scale consumers, allowing them to pay Ksh10 per kilowatt hour from Kh15.80 for customers who use below 100 kilowatts per month.
“Kenya Power assumes that the Retail Tariffs Application to adjust non-fuel base tariffs shall be approved in its entirety as the company may face operational challenges if review is not granted. The company may become financially unviable since its required continued improvement in service needs substantial investment,” said Kenya Power in their application.
According to the Energy Act 2019, electricity tariffs should be reviewed every three years, the regulator has often delayed or amended the rates earlier, partly due to the government seeking to ease inflationary pressure on households and industries.
The companies fortunes have been reducing while operational costs going up, with infrastructural maintenance and labour costs gobbling up Ksh39.6 billion in the year ended June compared to Ksh34.7 billion the year before.
https://twitter.com/YussufMwinyi/status/1199218556216455168
Catastrophic ripples throughout the economy! Higher electricity prices reduce customers' discretionary spending on goods and services while making these very same purchases more costly; essential products are not spared so KPLC customers either stay in darkness or starve!
— Andrew J Franklin (@ajfactual52) November 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/Paul_Charax/status/1199277556249350145
9. @KenyaPower needs to raise more revenue from the only section in our bills that accrue back to it – Sh/kWh – in order to deliver services.
BUT KPLC is irredeemably corrupt & without a financial & systems audit dating back 20yrs, no tariff increase will help.#SwitchOffKPLC pic.twitter.com/yRasEhP6fq
— Jerotich Seii (@JerotichSeii) November 26, 2019
Kwani Sasa hatutapumua? Fuel prices are there, now kplc comes with 20pc hike? Do they even have a reason ad to why they want to hike the prices or its just greed of the shareholders. I reject the hike, the prices are already high.
— Ray (@raykibss) November 26, 2019
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